A Critic's Journey: Literary Reflections, 1958-1998

Abstract

Geoffery Hartman, one of the most distinguished literary scholars in America, has been a commentator on and participant in the literary-critical scene for more than forty years. He was one of the first to question the formalism of the New Critics, he helped to introduce such European critics as Benjamin, Malraux, Blanchot, Lacan, and Derrida to American audiences, and he has expanded our knowledge of the history of criticism by pointing to the relevance of the Jewish rabbinic tradition and of psychoanalytic modes of interpretation. This book -- a collection of Hartman's essays from throughout his career -- sheds new light on the last four turbulent decades of criticism.In a lengthy introduction to the book, Hartman tells us about his life, the scholars who were his teachers or colleagues (among them Rene Wellek, Erich Auerbach, Harold Bloom, and Paul de Man), and some of the intellectual issues he has grappled with over the course of his career. essays in the volume, many of which are out of print or not previously collected, are arranged here in three parts: Theory (such influential pieces as Understanding Criticism and The Voice of the Shuttle); Cases (with subjects ranging from Shakespeare to Wordsworth and from Hitchcock to the mystery story); and Speculations (concluding with an essay on Higher Education at the Millennium.) collection -- vintage Hartman -- brings his exemplary work to a new generation of readers.